Researchers examined the prevalence of osteoarthritis and arthroplasty in 709 former male elite athletes. The median age of participants was 70 years old, and the average time since retirement from professional sports was 35 years. The former elite athletes were compared with 1,268 patients in a control group.
The risk of arthroplasty and arthritis was higher for former male elite athletes in both the hip and knee joint. The risk of hip osteoarthritis was doubled and hip arthroplasty 2.5 times higher than in the control group.
The study also associated knee injury with a higher potential for knee osteoarthritis.
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